Remember
by Risa1
Summary: To protect his human soulmate, Darien blocked all her memories of him. But can a memory block stand in the way of a soulmate bond and a family out to get vengeance?
1. Chapter 1

Remember

Chapter 1

By Risa

Synopsis: 3 years ago, Darien, a lamia, found his soulmate, Fortuna, a human. They were found out by the Night World and Fortuna was tortured. She was rescued from the brink of death with no memory of anything that happened after she met Darien. Now, by a twist of fate, their paths cross once more.  

Spoilers: None only that this takes place before the Wild Powers. 

Disclaimer: I own the characters and the story, the Night World and all related ideas do not belong to me.

            Darien fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one to open the door with. "Damn," he cursed, "why couldn't she have labelled the keys?"

            He was more than mildly irritated. He was hungry, tired and irritated at the way his day had gone, and all he wanted to do was get home and get some rest. Famous last words, as he would soon realise.

            Footsteps sounded on the hallway behind him. He heard a male voice say, "- so after Simon told the aunts that he was dropping out of law to do art, all the aunts went ballistic. You should have heard them. The shouting, the nagging, the scolding, the passive-aggressive behaviour, you would have thought that he had committed a sin worse than murder and rape combined."

            There was a sound of laughter then, a woman's laughter.

            Darien froze.

            A female voice said, "Your family is just so ridiculous sometimes." 

            The keys slipped out of Darien's fingers. That laugh, that voice… he knew them so well. He had heard them every night in his dreams for the past few years. Hoping against hope to hear that voice by his side again – despite the knowledge that he could never see her again. Longing to be with her once more. For a moment, he was lost in complex swirl of emotions – wild joy, grief, regret and yearning.

            He forcefully dragged himself back to reality. That time was long buried, irrevocably buried in the past. He bent down and picked up his keys and then turned to get a view of the speaker. What he saw confirmed what he already knew – it was she.

            The woman felt someone staring at her and turned. She saw a man probably in his early twenties and a sense of déjà vu came over her. She looked at him, puzzled and tilted her head first one way, then the other, trying to figure why she found this man so familiar. 

            The man beside her turned to look at Darien also, once he noticed that the woman's attention was now focused on him. He touched her on her shoulder and said softly, "You know him?"

            She shook her head and smiled, ignoring her initial sense of familiarity. "You're new here?" she asked.

            "Yes," Darien replied slowly, "I'm Darien Li, I've just rented this place."

            "Oh," she said, "I'm Fortuna Ji and this is my fiancé Kevan Feng. We haven't moved in for very long either."

            Darien was momentarily lost for words. He was stunned. Part of him was relieved that she didn't recognise him, another part of him shocked and jealous that she had gotten on with her life. It took him a while before he could speak coherently.

            "Well," he said, "it's nice to meet you. I-I better be getting in, there's still some stuff that I have to sort out."

            The man named Kevan smiled and said, "If you need anything, you could just ask us, we stay over here." He gestured to the door just opposite that of Darien's new home.

            "Definitely," he replied and went in. The moment he shut the door, he closed his eyes and leaned against it, memories swarming his mind.

            Darien was born to one of the oldest Asian lamia families. He was the oldest of his generation and all his elders had high expectations of him. He had grown up with traditional and conservative values that he had never questioned. It was the only world he knew, and he accepted all he was taught as the basic fundamentals of life. 

            When he was seventeen, he had been sent by his father to Shanghai to settle some business there. His father felt that it was time for him to start taking up more responsibilities. It was the first time that he was completely on his own and the feeling of freedom was delightful. It was also at this time that he first met Fortuna. 

            Anyway, he had moved into the house that his family owned there while Fortuna was staying with her relatives in the house next door. Her presence might have gone unnoticed since he rarely met or talked with the people next door beyond exchanging civilities. After all, they were human and unless it was necessary, he would rather not involve himself too much in their affairs. 

            At least, that was what he _intended to do. A few days after he had arrived, he had gone out to meet some prospective buyers of the properties his father owned. On his way home, he saw a young lady around his age leaning against the balcony, her face propped on her hands.  This, in itself would not have been enough to attract his attention. What attracted his attention was the expression on her face._

            She had shoulder length black hair and large eyes that were shining. Her face had a look of absolute contentment and her smile was poignantly sweet. Night had already fallen by then and the moonlight seemed to add an ethereal glow to her face. 

            Within that instant, he had become smitten with her. He told himself he couldn't and shouldn't but some strange emotion had awakened inside him which refused to hear sense. He wanted to meet her up close, to know her name; to know as much as can be known about her. That need plagued him throughout the night.

            The next day, he went over to introduce himself. It was the beginning of a relationship that would have a huge impact on both their lives…

            He shook his head to shake away and push back the memories. They were too much for him to take at once. All he wanted to do was to lie down and find some way to numb the pain that had resurfaced. That was one of the reasons why he had taken to a life of wandering, a drifter. Not just because of circumstances that forced him to – he was being hunted by his own family – but simply because he did not want to establish any kind of relations, he would rather keep the emotional stuff out of his life.

He sighed and began the task of unpacking, keeping himself busy. Hoping that that would somehow keep the memories at bay and dull the deep sorrow that he felt.

            Fortuna opened the door to the apartment and walked in, dropping her keys into the bowl on the small table beside the door. She went straight to the sofa and plopped herself down, propping her legs on the coffee table. She stretched her arms and slumped further down, sighing.

            Kevan closed the door and walked in at a more moderate speed than she did. He sat down next to her and laughed. "I didn't know that spending the evening with my relatives would be so taxing for you. You're young, you're supposed to be able to take it."

            She turned to him and made a face, "I'm old enough. Besides, spending the evening with your relatives would take all the energy out of a hyperactive three year old." Then she changed the subject. "I didn't know that Karen was going to rent out her apartment."

            "You didn't know? She was going to stay with her boyfriend, it seems like their relationship is getting really serious."

            "Oh? It seems that each time she gets serious with someone, the ship runs into an iceberg and the relations perish along with it."

            Kevan shook his head and said, "Cynic."

            "Hey!" she protested. "I'm just realistic. Karen's in and out of love as fast and as often as a rich woman changes shoes." Then she changed the subject, "Well, the new occupant of her apartment seems like an interesting person anyway."

            "Darien Li?"

            "No, Little Miss Muffet. Of course I'm referring to Darien Li," Fortuna retorted.

            "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you," Kevan said, with a mock sigh. Fortuna just grinned at him. "Well, he seems nice enough," Kevan replied, "but I get the feeling that he isn't one who talks much about himself, or anything for that matter."

            "Perhaps, but he could not be worse than a person who *only* talks about himself," she said. Darien Li intrigued her. There was that sense of familiarity that she felt towards him, as if she should know who he was. It was more than that. She felt as if she had once known him _very well. She did not voice her feeling though. It seemed ridiculous, even to herself._

            She yawned and got up of the sofa. "I'm going to make some tea before I go to bed. You want some?"

            "No," Kevan replied, "I've some work first." With that, he got up, kissed her lightly, and went into his room.

            Fortuna got out the tealeaves and placed the kettle on the stove. As she waited, staring at the orange and blue flames, she reflected silently to herself. She and Kevan had shared an apartment for slightly over two years and they had been engaged for three months. It was odd to most people that even though they were engaged, they still kept separate rooms. Nobody knew that he was a distant cousin of hers and that they had stayed together because they were both studying at the same university. At first, they were like siblings, and then they realise that their feelings had grown deeper for each other. Then, soon after, he had proposed.

            Her thoughts turned to her family. Her family had passed away in an accident three years ago. They had passed away in an accident that she had no memory of. All she knew about the tragedy was according to her aunt Alyssa. Fortuna's family moved around a lot, due to her father's job. Hence, her mother and Alyssa had kept in contact mainly through letters. Fortuna had only vague memories of her mother mentioning any Alyssa, but she had mentioned details about her mother that only a family member would know. 

            According to Aunt Alyssa, she and her parents had been driving out for dinner, while on holiday in Taiwan when a drunk driver cut into their path. In order to avoid him, her father swerved to the side but lost control and the car collided with a lamppost. Both her parents had died and she had barely survived. She had remained in a coma for two weeks. The strange thing was, she could remember nothing about the accident.

            Kevan was Aunt Alyssa's husband's nephew. They had met at a gathering at Aunt Alyssa's home in Shanghai where Fortuna was staying for the moment. Then she decided to go back to Singapore to finish her studying. Kevan also happened to be studying there as well and Aunt Alyssa had asked her to stay with Kevan instead of being all alone so that it would be safer. She had agreed since Kevan had become like a brother to her.

            Before long, she had finished up her tea and she walked to her room. Then she heard a shout from Kevan, "I forgot to tell you Fortuna, Aunt Alyssa just wrote today and said that she would be coming next week to pay us a visit."

            "Wonderful," Fortuna said sardonically. "There's one more cynical than I am."

            Kevan laughed. "It's all in the genes, love."

            A week later, Fortuna and Kevan picked their Aunt Alyssa from the Changi Airport. Alyssa insisted on going to their apartment before they dropped her off at her hotel. "I came specifically to see the two of you and you're not getting rid of me this easily. After all, both of you did not even have the courtesy to announce your engagement in person. You just called and said, "By the way, Kevan and me are getting engaged." There's nothing 'by the way' about this you know?"

            Fortuna blushed while Kevan laughed and remarked, "I think I know where Fortuna gets her tongue from." Fortuna hit him lightly on the shoulder.

            As they walked, they exchanged news about family members. Fortuna remarked, "You know, watching Kevan's family is like watching a bad soap. The histrionics, the gossiping, the little plots… I think they would make a fascinating study of how Life imitates Art."

            "That's my husband's family you're insulting there," Alyssa said.

            "I was just making an observation," Fortuna said mildly.

            "She's irritating when she does that," Alyssa said sourly to Kevan.

            When they arrived at the apartment, Darien was just leaving the house. Fortuna spotted him and told Alyssa, "This is our new neighbour, Darien Li."

            His appearance shocked and disturbed Alyssa greatly. She quickly masked it however and smiled and said, "Ah, I'm Fortuna and Kevan's aunt, Alyssa."

            The shock that Darien had gotten on seeing her was no less than hers. He forced himself to smile and said, "Please to meet you." Mentally though, he was berating fate, coincidence and all divine spirits for making all the people of his past appear and haunt him. If they wanted something to laugh at or fool around with, they could at least choose someone who would be appreciative.

            Then he heard the voice in his head, "I want an explanation and you had better give me one. Look for me at the Four Seasons Hotel tonight." Darien stared at Alyssa but her face gave no indication of what she had just said to him telepathically.

            Fortuna and Kevan noticed the strange tension between the two and were puzzled. Fortuna asked, "Do you know each other?" 

            Alyssa turned to her and smiled, "No, he just looks like someone. Now let's go in, shall we? It's getting rather late and I would like for us to have dinner together. Nice to meet you too, Mr. Li."

            With that, they went into the apartment, leaving Darien standing there, stupefied at the way things could get so bad so fast.


	2. Chapter 2

Remember

By Risa

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Chapter Two

            Darien sat down on the couch in a daze. He felt as if his grasp on reality had been peeled away and he was now free-falling. He buried his head in his hands and took a deep breath. He needed to focus himself, needed to get a rein on his emotions and tuck them aside. Throwing a tantrum wouldn't do much good; it was better if he left his cold, analytical side in control.

            Of course, that was easier said than done. He kept remembering what he had told Alyssa the last time he had seen her…

            "She'll have no memory of me. I've brought her nothing but pain and sorrow. I'll never enter her life again."

            He also remembered seeing Fortuna lying in the hospital bed, connected to so many tubes and barely hanging on to her life. The blow to his heart when he saw that scene was something he had never felt before, there was not a moment in his life when he hated himself more for who he was, or a moment where he was more helpless.

            _"Look for me at the Four Seasons Hotel tonight."_

            That was what Alyssa had said. Was he going to go? He really didn't want to. Why couldn't the people of his past just stay there and stop making sudden appearances? How could most of the people from his past suddenly appear within a space of a week? For all he knew, his own father who was hunting him down would appear at his doorstep next week.

            He sighed, sat up and leaned against the back of the couch, throwing his head back. Alyssa was expecting him; it was almost like a dare. He had never yet backed away from a dare, no matter how high the stakes were. He would go to see her tonight.

            Darien walked towards the reception of the Four Seasons Hotel, about to ask for Alyssa's room number. He walked a few steps forward and then hesitated and turned and walked away from the reception. He did not want to see Alyssa, not after he had tried so hard to get over his past. A voice in his mind said, "Darien, you're a coward. You aren't willing to face up to what has happened. Three years have passed, for God's sake, you've been hiding from reality for three years."

            That did it. He unconsciously straightened his shoulders, took a deep breath and walked to the reception with a determined look on his face. He might as well get this done and over with. If he did not see her tonight, she would still find some way to see him; after all she knew where he stayed now.

            "Good evening," he said to the woman behind the counter, "could I know what room Mrs. Alyssa Yuen is in?"

            After tapping a few keys on the keyboard, the woman told him the room number. "Have a nice evening," she said, smiling.

            "I wish," Darien muttered under his breath. He took his time and slowly made his way to Alyssa's room. It took a while for her to answer the door.

            "You came. I didn't know whether I should expect you to come or not," she said quietly and showed him in. Her hair was damp and it was obvious that she had just taken a shower. She was also dressed quite soberly, a not-so-subtle indication that this would not be a casual conversation, two people exchanging news about what they had been doing and their family and friends.

            "There was no reason why I shouldn't," Darien said and went in after her. Actually, he could think of hundreds of reasons why he should not be standing there, talking to her.

            Alyssa sat in one of the armchairs and indicated that Darien should sit down as well. "Let's dispense with all the polite niceties, shall we? They take up too much time." Then she asked bluntly, "What are you doing here? You said that you weren't going to see Fortuna again."

            He sighed and said, "I meant what I said. We met purely by chance. And you don't have to worry, I won't try to make her remember me or come back to me."

            She leaned forward in her seat and said, "Look, I don't take surprises too well. In fact, I hate surprises. That's partly why I got so upset."

            Then she leaned back and placed a finger on her cheek. Darien still hadn't said anything, sensing that there was more that she wanted to say. After what seemed like a long pause, Alyssa said, "Another reason was that I had news that your family has found out Fortuna's location and is coming after her."

            Darien's face which had been looking down towards the ground, lifted suddenly and his eyes widened.

            Alyssa nodded grimly. "That is the reason for my visit here. When I saw you, I thought that you were also after her. I took it as confirmation that she was going to be under attack by your family."

            "What?…Me?…Attack?" Darien spluttered, incredulous. He couldn't believe that Alyssa could entertain such suspicions. She had a soulmate as well, she should understand that it was almost impossible to harm, let alone kill your soulmate.

            "I know," she said slightly apologetically, "I told you I don't react well to surprises." Then she continued, "I called you here because I wanted to find out what your motives were and also because I want you to protect her. I can't stay behind, I'm needed by Circle Daybreak back in Shanghai."

            The last reason left him dumbstruck. He had already decided that he would leave Singapore as soon as he could. He would have called the landowner if she had been at home. He felt like refusing, the torture of spending so long with Fortuna and yet unable to be more than friends was something that he did not know if he could take. But he couldn't refuse Alyssa. He owed her too much. The flashbacks hit him again, but damn, he hated flashbacks.

            "We found her abandoned outside a warehouse, barely breathing. She's now in a coma," Alyssa had said.

            His family had abducted Fortuna while he had been out of the house. He had searched for her frantically for days until Alyssa, who was from Circle Daybreak, had contacted him. Fortuna had been tortured badly and was hospitalised. 

            Upon hearing the news, Darien had nearly collapsed right there. A part of him however, had already expected this. For days since Fortuna had been missing he had been having flashes of traumatising pain and agony that could have come from no other source but Fortuna.

            "Before she became unconscious, she asked us to tell you to carry on with your life no matter what happens to her. She said you owed her that much," Alyssa said then. "You're the only one who can get her out of the coma, using the soulmate bond."

            He had fallen heavily into a seat and then said, "I'll do that. When she awakens, however, I want you to remove all memories of me."

            Alyssa shook her head; "I can't do that. Her mind seems to have a natural shield from telepathy. You're the only one who could do that."

            That was yet another shock to Darien. He hadn't heard of such a thing before. That would probably explain why they had tortured her so badly. 

            Then he asked Alyssa, "What about her parents?"

            "Dead."

            "She has no other family left, and she wouldn't place any of her relatives in risk, neither would I…could you be one to her? She needs someone right now and it cannot be me."

            Alyssa nodded.

            "Darien," Alyssa said, "Darien?"

            "Yeah," he mumbled, shaking his mind clear. 

            "Will you do that for me?"

            "Do I have a choice? But as soon as she's safe, I'm leaving." With that, he got up abruptly and left.

            Alyssa tilted her head back, closed her eyes and sighed. The day had been too much for her to take – worrying if Fortuna and Kevan were really safe, then meeting Darien Li, then her meeting with him – too many things had happened.  

            She opened her eyes and looked out of the window. She was not really looking outside however; immersed as she was in her own thoughts.

            Alyssa could not know the pain that Darien was going through, in fact, she was thankful for that. She had found her human soulmate years and years ago and it had not been an easy road for them. Yes, they were soulmates and were meant to be with each other, but still it was like every relationship – with its pressures and problems. For one, they had gone against the Night World and were basically fugitives, another was that her soulmate had to get used to the idea that she was a vampire and she that he was human.

            It was lucky though that she was born a female to a minor lamia family. To her family, she was just another daughter. One who did not have much significance. Sure, they would kill her if they saw her but so long as she did not cross their path or did not admit a kinship with them, they wouldn't waste the effort of trying to hunt her down.

            Darien had been a different matter. He had been brought up to one-day take over the running of the family of one of the most powerful lamia families. To them, his elopement with a human had been a dent to the family honour, was a stigma on everything the Li family represented and was a source of great shame. His family would not let the matter rest that easily, he and Fortuna _would be hunted down and killed, even if they posed no threat._

            She had scolded herself vigorously when she had got back to the hotel and thought through all that had happened. She shouldn't have thought that Darien could kill Fortuna. She had been a witness to the depth of emotion he had for Fortuna, knew that he would rather cut his heart out then to let harm come to even a hair on her head. There was no way he could do it, but she knew that he would do anything in his power to protect her, which was why she had asked him to stay and watch over her. 

            She went back to the chair and sat down again, sipping at a coffee that had long since gone cold. Coffee had little effect on her – she just liked the taste. Alyssa did not know what to do, she could only imagine how difficult it would be for Darien to spend time with Fortuna, knowing that she was his soulmate but also knowing that her heart and hand was with someone else. She wanted, no, would have liked for them to get back together, but she could not meddle in the situation. Both parties had been through so much torture and pain, but it had been worse for Fortuna. It was a miracle that she still possessed no memory of the tortures that had been inflicted, that bits of it had not appeared to haunt her in nightmares.

            Alyssa got up again and went to bed. Everything would just have to sort itself out, whatever happened was between the three of them and she had no right to interfere. Right now, all she was concerned was whether Fortuna remained safe. Over the years, her feelings for Fortuna had been like that of a daughter. She would not allow her to be harmed. But she could not stay behind; there were problems in Shanghai with the Night World. Somehow, there had been a leak regarding the operations of Circle Daybreak and assassinations had occurred. Alyssa had to return and solve that; it was one of her responsibilities.

            She turned off the lamp and closed her eyes. Everything had to wait until tomorrow. There was nothing more for her to do.

            While Alyssa was having her conversation with Darien, Fortuna and Kevan were having their own on her.

"She seems to be a little distracted today," Fortuna remarked.

"I know. It isn't all that unusual, she could be bothered about something. You know how Aunt Alyssa is, she tends to worry over the slightest thing," Kevan said assuredly. 

Fortuna was not convinced. "She was fine when we had picked her up from the airport. It wasn't until after she had met Darien that she started to seem as if her mind was focused on something else." 

He frowned slightly and said, "You have a point." He looked back at what had occurred from the moment the two had met and his frown deepened. "Something was going on between them, some kind of unspoken communication. I think the two of them might have met somewhere before and what happened between the two of them probably wasn't too pleasant."

"Unspoken communication?" Fortuna laughed, "Telepathy? Am I really hearing this from you, Mr. Scientific?"

"Well, it did seem that way," Kevan said, mildly defensive.

She gave him a small kiss. "You don't have to be so defensive. I was just joking. Actually," her voice turned serious, "I came to about the same conclusion."

He slipped his hands around her waist and held her close. "I suppose we're really meant for each other - we share the same thoughts," he said laughingly.

Fortuna turned and ruffled his hair. "You can't tell just by that you know, what if there are other factors that prove otherwise?"

Kevan pretended to look hurt without much success. Then his face got serious and he went back to the original topic of conversation. "However, there's something really strange about that Darien Li, and I think that Aunt Alyssa knows about that."

"Really?" she said, "Maybe we should ask her."

"Would she tell us? If she wanted to, she would have done so earlier."

"Possibly, but it could be that she was shocked to see him here and was going to tell us when she had gotten over the shock."

"I'm worried though," Kevan said, "judging from Aunt Alyssa's reaction, I don't think he should be trusted that easily. In fact, he might…"

"Be dangerous?" Fortuna interrupted. "Kevan, you worry too much. Think, for goodness sake. If he really were dangerous, wouldn't Alyssa have told us? She wouldn't want either of us to get hurt, would she?"

"I suppose so," he agreed.

"Also, does he look like he would harm us? Yes, he's a withdrawn and reserved and doesn't seem friendly, but if he wanted to hurt us, he should have gone out of the way to make himself pleasant and likeable," she continued. Fortuna had a strong feeling however that Darien would not hurt them at all, but she did not voice that thought.

"Well, we could always ask Alyssa, all would be revealed in good time I suppose," Kevan said, shaking off the last shadows of suspicion.

"Now, how about some tea and food and avoid talking about anything important," Fortuna said, steering him into the kitchen.

"Look at you," he protested, "already bossing me around, and me fool enough to bear it."

She laughed and gave him a kiss then said; "This makes everything worthwhile doesn't it?"

"I don't know," Kevan said, deliberately baiting her.  
            The phone chose that moment to ring, interrupting their conversation. They stopped laughing and looked at each other. Fortuna gave him a look that told Kevan to answer the phone while she prepared the tea.

            "Hello?" he said, picking up the phone. After a moment, he said, "Yes, I am."

            It was followed by a series of "Yes", "Okay," and "All right." Meanwhile, his face had gone paler and his tone had become dull and expressionless.

            Fortuna noticed and walked closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She knew instinctively that something bad had probably happened.

            Kevan turned towards her and tried to smile, failing miserably. Then he said, "I'll get there as soon as I can," and put the phone down.

            He ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Then he slumped against the wall and covered his eyes with his hands. Fortuna just stood there, waiting for him to tell her what had happened.

            "My grandmother is dead," he said, finally breaking out of his trance.

            Fortuna's eyes widened but she remained silent. She knew that Kevan adored his grandmother and this must have come as a shock. That was an understatement, there probably weren't any words to describe the sorrow he now felt.

            The tears he had been holding back started to fall. "I knew she was ill, she has been for the past few years. Somehow, I hoped that she would pull through, but she keeps getting worse. Even though I've been preparing myself, it's still too soon." The tears fell silently, there weren't any sobs or sniffs, and the tears just kept falling.

            Fortuna went up and held him in her arms. "There's no way you can prepare for this sort of thing. Absolutely no way." She smoothed his hair then rubbed his back.

            After a while of silent mourning, he raised his head and wiped his eyes. "This is pretty much the first time I've cried in twelve years," he said, smiling slightly.

            Her heart ached to see him trying to act strong. "So, you'll have to go back to Shanghai?"

            "Yes," he sighed.

            "Do you want me to go with you?"

            "No, it's better if you stay here. You still have your job and all. Besides, you've only seen her twice, I'll rather spare you the drama my family would probably make out of the funeral." The last was said mockingly.

            Fortuna nodded. 

            With that, Kevan went to make the arrangements for him to leave the next day.  As Fortuna watched him on the phone, her mind drifted far away. Death had cast a shadow on her life for the past three years. While she knew that it was something natural and inevitable, a part of her still resented it. But even more, she hated not being able to remember how her parents died. People said that it must be easier that way, but it wasn't. It was agonising. It was as if there was a blank spot in her life and she kept suspecting that she had something to do with her parents' death. Otherwise why couldn't she remember anything?

            Fortuna sighed. Now was not the time for all this. Kevan needed her right now. After all, she was in the best position to, having experienced the death of a loved one before, she smiled to herself ruefully.


	3. Chapter 3

Remember

By Risa 

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Chapter Three

When Darien walked out of his apartment the next morning, he saw Fortuna balancing precariously on a stool trying to nail in a nail. He laughed softly to himself. Fortuna had always insisted on doing things on her own and refused to ask help.

He turned and was locking the door when he heard a crash behind him. He turned sharply in shock and saw Fortuna falling off the stool. Reflexively, he moved forward and caught her in his arms.

Fortuna looked up at his face, flustered and in shock. Dimly, she wondered how he had been able to catch her so quickly and where he had appeared from. But most of her attention was drawn by the expression in his eyes.

In his eyes, she saw concern, worry and a strange deep emotion that made her want to run and hide but another part of her was reluctant to, could not bring herself to. That was when it happened. 

A connection seemed to come alive between them. Something so strange that there was no metaphorical description for it. It seemed to pull her closer to him, to know him as well as she knew herself, as she once had.

As she once had. How could she have known him that well before? She thought hazily. They had only met not long before and were just ordinary friends.

It was this thought that jolted her back to reality. She pushed away from his arms and stood shakily. Darien did not try to keep her there. He had been kneeling on the floor and slowly got up, his eyes not leaving her face.

Fortuna lowered her face, flushing slightly. Why was she feeling all these strange emotions? What was it that kept drawing her towards him? She was already in love with Kevan, she was about to be married to him for God's sake. She tried to rid her mind of all the confusion and started to babble. "Thanks for catching me… I don't know why I'm so clumsy…it's just a simple task after all…thanks, really…¨

Upon hearing her voice, Darien woke suddenly from the trance that he had been in. Then he swore inwardly. How did he manage to lose control of himself, to let her get close to him? He could not risk her remembering what they had in the past and he had no idea if the soulmate bond would be able to jolt her memories. Besides, she had her own life, a life that he had no part in.

"It's all right," he said, interrupting her. "I'll help you with that." He picked up the hammer from the floor and helped her finish up with what she had been doing.

Fortuna stared as he went about the task, silent. The feeling that she had known him before was stronger now. She did not know what had gotten into her. Within minutes, he had finishing nailing. He turned to her to passed the hammer to her and their eyes met and held. Fortuna felt as if a bridge was being built between them, to bring them together. It was a scary thought and she lowered her eyes, breaking eye contact.

"Thanks," she said with false cheerfulness. "I guess I had better get going," she said weakly and walked into the door.

Darien ran his fingers through his hair as she left. He had to leave. Soon. Before he lost control of his emotions.

As soon as she got into the apartment, Fortuna poured herself a cup of water to calm her nerves. She really had no idea as to what had just happened. It was so…strange did not quite cover it. 

Then strange thoughts came into her mind. They were like memories but Fortuna did not remember having these experiences. She saw herself and Darien on board a boat, and her arm was over the railing, holding a small plastic rod. Bubbles flew as the wind blew. They were laughing and Darien had slipped his arms around her waist.

The image vanished and she saw herself and Darien again. He was pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear and caressed her face. He was telling her goodbye, that he would be back as soon as he could.

Fortuna shook her head and the images vanished.

She held the cup of tea in her hands, trying to warm her now cold palms. She then sipped slowly and shut her eyes. Then she left the cup on the table and got up to go to her room to start on her work. She needed to do something, anything to ignore the thoughts running through her mind. That was when she felt a strong arm go round her neck, strangling her. 

A soft, dangerous voice whispered in her ear, "Don't make a sound or I'll break your neck." 

Fortuna knew that the man could, she could feel the strength in the arm. She tried to nod and managed to gasp out a "yes".

He let her go and tied her arms together. He then forced her back into the chair which she had been sitting on. "You don't know how difficult it was to find you," the man said.

Fortuna now had a clear look at his face. He had medium length, fine black hair and certain features reminded her of Darien. Except for his eyes and mouth. His eyes showed a certain contempt and madness. His mouth had an ugly smile and seemed to be used most often for sneering. She could tell that this was a man who enjoyed people's pain but most of all, he was a killer. Deadly and efficient. She stared back, defiant. "Oh, and you went through so much problems to locate me just to kill me for nothing."

"Well, you did get the first bit right, but you can't exactly call it 'for nothing'."

"It wasn't that hard to guess. When someone threatens to kill you the first time they meet you, you know that they definitely intend to kill you eventually. If there's a reason, then what is it? I don't know you."

"You wouldn't. But would the Li family ring any bells?"

"Li family? What Li family? The only Li I know is Darien Li," Fortuna asked, confused. She felt that she should know the name but it was a ridiculous thought. 

The man laughed. "Oh really? Now that's funny. I thought that you should know them pretty well, at least you seemed to three years ago."

As they were talking, Fortuna tried to untie herself. The man noticed the movement and smiled. Fortuna felt a sense of dread come over her. He walked behind her and pulled her head back. "Don't bother struggling. It'll just make things more painful. 

Fortuna winced in pain but the pride that was ingrained in her refused to let her cry out. She just stared at him with hate-filled eyes. He let go of her hair and stood in front of her again. "Now, where's 

Li Song?"

"I don't know who he is!"

"Don't lie to me," the man said. "You and him eloped three years ago. We managed to find you but you refused to reveal his location. If you still remember the pain you felt that time, you better tell me now because it'll be infinitely worse."

"I. Don't. Know. Who. He. Is." Fortuna said harshly. But once again, she was getting the strange thoughts that she had been getting earlier. She remembered being in a dark room and someone was sticking needles into her body and she was biting her lip so hard to keep from screaming that it was bleeding. 

"Where is he?" a voice shouted. She was not sure if it was the voice of the man, or the voice in her mind.

The fear and confusion that she felt must have appeared on the face because the man started to smile. "So you do remember," he walked slowly towards her, his gait predatory.

When he came close enough, Fortuna gave him a hard and sharp kick. There had been no sign of her intentions. The man swore. Fortuna took the opportunity to start screaming as she managed to squirm out of the ropes and try running for the kitchen knife. 

But the man had recovered quickly grabbed her and slammed her back against the kitchen counter. A small gasp escaped Fortuna. "I really shouldn't have underestimated you, but I wouldn't again," he muttered. He grabbed her hand and was about to turn her over when she flopped him onto his back. 

She took one of the kitchen knives lying on the counter and held it like a dagger as she rushed towards him. She managed to slash him in the face. Then she watched in shock as the cut healed right before her eyes. He laughed and said, "Sorry, honey. That miserable knife is not going to hurt me much." 

One part of the mind was going hysterical but Fortuna managed to remain calm. Even if the knife couldn't kill him, if she could hurt him bad enough she could still escape, after all it would still take some time to heal.

The man then rushed at her, trying again to knock the knife out of her hands. She turned her wrist and was able to slash him once more on the arm. 

"You're pretty good," the man said. Until then, he did not take her seriously and felt that it was just pure luck that she had been able to hurt him. Now, he began to show everything that made him everything that made him one of the most dangerous assassins.

Within minutes, their places had changed. The man was now doing the attacking and Fortuna the dodging. She already had several bruises and cuts and blood was trickling out of her nose. The man had numerous slashes on his arm and chest.

Then his leg moved as if he was going to attack Fortuna's right, so she moved towards her left. But it was a trick and he instead attacked her left and grabbed her left arm and twisted it back. Then he knocked the knife out of her hand. 

Ordinarily, Fortuna might be able to react quickly enough to move but she was getting too exhausted and her mind was slowing. Now, the man had her wrists held in a tight hold and she was held against his chest. 

"That was rather invigorating. But now you're going to suffer for that."

Darien got out of the lift impatiently. He had gone downstairs only to remember that he had forgotten to take the parcel he was supposed to post to his publisher.

As soon as he walked out, he heard the sounds of a struggle and muffled screams. He would have missed it if he hadn't recognised the voice. This was a voice that he knew as well as his own.

His subsequent actions were reflexive. He ran to Fortuna's apartment and tried to open the door. Naturally it was locked. Berating himself for his stupidity, he banged open the door and saw Fortuna pinned onto the floor by a large man. He had his hands around her neck and was banging her head on the ground. "Where is he?" he growled. "Tell me now!"

Within seconds, Darien had rushed forward and pulled the man by his hair off Fortuna and punched him in the face. The man staggered backwards a few steps and took a good look at his assailant.

"Li Song?" he said. "So you were right under my nose all this time?"

"Not right under, never right under it, Li Yu," Darien scowled. The man was a cousin of his. He should have known that his family would be behind this. Why couldn't everything in his past just _stay there and not make sudden appearances __all at the same time?_

"We have spent a lot of time and effort looking for you. So you're probably not as good as you thought, we've managed to catch up with you."

"No, you didn't," Darien scoffed. "I made sure of that. I just happened to be in the vicinity and you got lucky. You think the elders would have just sent you to handle me Li Yu? They know that I've beaten you ever since we were five."

"Well, things change. You haven't faced me in a proper fight for a long time." Before waiting for a reply, Li Yu rushed towards him, trying to kick him in the face.

Darien side stepped and he missed. He then kicked Li Yu in the stomach and grabbed his hair once more and threw him on his back. It went on for what seemed like a long while before Darien managed to get Li Yu pinned to the ground. Darien had his legs on the either side of him and was reaching to break his neck when he felt something strike his chest. 

It was a small, wooden arrow and had just narrowly missed his heart. Instantly, the pain swamped over him, blinding him for a moment.

That was all that Li Yu needed. He struggled upright and their positions were now reversed.

"You never understood that not everyone plays by the same rules you do," Li Yu said. He pulled up the long sleeve on his right arm, revealing a strange device that had a few arrows attached to it.

Darien recognised it. This was one of the traditional weapons the Li family had passed down. In recent years however, it had fallen out of disuse. Few actually knew how to use it. With a slight movement, an arrow could be released. It required a lot of practice however as it was difficult to manipulate. He had not known that Li Yu knew how to use it.

"No, you didn't, did you?" Li Yu said, reading his thoughts.  "All those who knew...let's just say that I took measures."

He then moved towards Darien, slowly and deadly.

Then, he felt something strike his head and he fell to the ground. Darien looked up and saw Fortuna standing there, with a bamboo pole in her hand, her face pale.

She had passed out after Darien had pulled Li Yu off her. She regained consciousness soon after and saw that Darien had been attacked by the arrow. For a moment, all she could feel was panic. She was afraid that Darien would be killed and she knew that if he were, life would never be the same again.

She had struggled up and found the bamboo poles she used for hanging clothes near the kitchen. It was a little longer than what she was used to but it could still be used. Pulling strength from some unknown reserve, she used the pole and hit Li Yu's head twice, putting everything she had into both blows.

"Hurry," Darien said, pulling the arrow out of his chest, "take the dagger and kill him." 

Fortuna complied. It seemed as if the rational, logical part of mind had been pushed to the passenger seat. She felt strangely detached and instinct had told her both Li Yu and Darien were vampires, although her thinking mind resisted that thought. A small door to locked part of her mind opened and she knew that what Darien said was right. That the only way to get rid of Li Yu was to kill him and that she and Darien were not safe. 

She plunged the dagger into Li Yu's heart and watched in a strange, morbid fascination, as the body seemed to decay and fall apart before her very eyes. Then, as if waking from a trance, she started to scream at what she had done.

Darien winced in pain as he struggled towards her and took her in his arms. He hushed her screams and said, "Stop that, you don't want to attract any attention from the neighbours." 

Fortuna became silent and buried her head into his shoulder. She was so confused and lost. It was as if she had awoken to a nightmare, something she did not understand. This was what nightmares were made of, not real life. Real life didn't have vampires; real life didn't have things that were out to kill her. 

Then she heard a wince and raised her head, catching the pain in Darien's eyes. She realised that she must have accidentally come into contact with his wound.

The wound, she remembered suddenly.

"You need to get that wound treated," she said, leaning to look at the ugly mess of blood and flesh. It was so deep. Fortuna did not know how someone with that kind of wound would survive. She did not know how a wooden arrow could cause that bad of an injury, unless...

"You're a vampire aren't you," she said flatly.

"Not quite like the idea of a vampire you have in your mind, but yes," Darien said. It was no use trying to hide the truth from her and he couldn't risk her bringing him to a hospital. 

"We have to do something about that," Fortuna said, changing the subject. There was time enough to deal with that fact a little later. It wasn't likely that he would go anyway just yet. "But I don't know much about injuries."

"Don't worry," he said, "all you have to do is just clean it and bandage it up. It'll heal soon enough."

"What about the blood?" she said bluntly. "You need something to eat don't you?"

"I suppose," he admitted reluctantly. "There's some I keep for emergencies in my apartment."

"All right," Fortuna said, "let's just move you to Kevan's bedroom first."

Before long, Fortuna had managed to finish attending to Darien. He now slept silently on the bed. She sat on the seat beside the window, staring at him, trying to sort out the thoughts in her mind. But she was too tired to do anything, besides, it was unlikely that she would find the answers to them on her own. She leaned against the window and fell asleep.

Darien stirred and woke up. He saw Fortuna sleeping beside the window. For a moment his heart was filled with longing. They had been separated for a so long and now she was just there, sleeping just a few metres away from him. She was so near to him yet she might as well be in a different world as he was.

He was broken out of his reverie by sounds of muttering. He looked at Fortuna. She was tossing and turning, her mouth mumbling something. Then she said, "No! Don't kill them! I'll tell you everything!" 

Darien sprang out of the bed, worried. Her face had become pale and she was perspiring. He tried to wake her but there was no reaction. Her face felt very warm. Alarmed, he placed his palm on top of her forehead. He withdrew his hand quickly. She was having a high fever. He had to get her to the clinic. He knew what stress, shock and exhaustion could do to a person and she had been been hurt in a few places by Li Yu. He carried her in his arms and brought her outside.


	4. Chapter 4

Remember

By Risa 

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Chapter Four

As Darien was about to walk out of the building, he saw a black, Japanese car that was parked not to far away from the entrance into the lift lobby. It was not the car that attracted his attention however, but the person waiting inside.

            He knew who that person was.

            It was one of the hired hands of his family, Song He. When Darien was a boy, he was one of the people who watched over him and taught him the rudiments of fighting. Darien knew that he was the orphan son of one of his father's closest friends whose family had been killed when he was seven. The boy had then been brought up by the Li family and was loyal to a fault. Since then, he had taken upon himself to protect as many members of the Li clan as he could. This meant that he had to have arrived with Li Yu.

            Which also meant that Darien could not simply walk out carrying Fortuna in his arms. He would be too easily spotted and recognised. He decided then to bring her to his apartment. Song He was definitely going to get suspicious if Li Yu did not appear after a long time and would go up to Fortuna's apartment to check. At least he did not know of Darien's presence. 

            He went into his bedroom and laid Fortuna gently down on the bed. Then he ransacked his room, searching for the piece of paper which had Alyssa's contact number which she had given him. He finally found it underneath a stack of papers.

            He dialled the number while watching Fortuna, mumbling for Alyssa to pick up. A few rings later, she did.

            "Hello, Alyssa Yuen."

            "Alyssa, it's Darien."

            "Darien?" she said, surprised. Then her tone became ominous, "What's happened? You wouldn't call unless it's something bad."

            "Well, let's see. I nearly got too close to Fortuna, she got attacked in her home by one of my insane and fanatical cousins, I nearly got killed, she's injured and having a high fever and there's one of the most loyal people to the Li family sitting in a car just outside. I think I've just about covered everything," Darien was getting slightly hysterical. Of course there something bad had happened, a lot of bad "somethings".

            "Stop that, do you know how irritating that is?" Alyssa said. "Where are you now?"

            "In my apartment."

            "All right, I will try and see if I could contact anyone of the healers that I know in the area and get them there as soon as possible. Meanwhile, what have you done so far to bring down the fever?"

            "Bring down the fever?" Darien said blankly.

            Alyssa sighed and mumbled for patience under her breath. "You've been around humans for such a long time, you stayed with Fortuna for a year and you don't know how to deal with a simple fever?"

            "I've never been a situation where I had to know how," Darien said defensively, about to launch into a tirade. 

            "Oh hush," Alyssa interrupting. "You can whine later. Now just follow my instructions. Go get a handkerchief or a piece of cloth."

            "Handkerchief, handkerchief..." he mumbled as he balanced the cordless phone on his shoulder and ransacked his drawers for a proper handkerchief.

            "Got it," he said.

            "Wet the handkerchief with some water."

            He did.

            "Now place it on her forehead. I also want you to use the handkerchief to wipe her body to try and cool it."

            "What!" he shouted into the phone.

            "You don't have to be so loud," she said, "I have perfectly good hearing as you should well know."

            "Sorry, but…"

            "Forget your scruples for a moment and just do as I say. It's not as if I want you to strip her or something. Just wipe her back, neck and face and that should do it."

            "You should have said so earlier," Darien said.

            "I suppose I should have," Alyssa said unapologetically, "If it's possible, go over to her apartment and find some medication. It should be Panadol, the white tablets."

            "I know what that is," he snapped.

            Alyssa ignored him. "Try and get her to drink as much water as possible. I think that should help you manage until the doctor comes."

            "All right," Darien said. "Alyssa, you had better get back here quick. I think that Fortuna's in danger."

            "You're just bursting with good news, aren't you?" Alyssa said. "Of course I'll get down there as soon as I can," she said in a softer tone. 

            Fortuna felt as if she was in a nightmare she couldn't get out of.

            Images of herself and Darien started to flash, then the images stopped and everything unfolded like a movie.

            She was walking along the street, when someone caught her from behind and gave her a sound knock on the head, leaving her unconscious.

            She woke up to find herself trapped in a chair in a dark, empty room. There were two strangers bent over her. One of them was a tall, lean man, with features that resembled Darien's. The same dark, black eyes but his showed fierce anger. The other was a woman, with wavy black hair and was unearthly beautiful. The woman stared at Fortuna for a moment before looking questioningly at the man. The man nodded at the woman.

            She asked, "Where is Li Song?"

            Fortuna knew that she could not answer that. What Darien had feared had happened. She still remembered what he had said before he left. "Be careful. My family is still searching for me and if they find either of us...let's just say I'll rather they didn't."

            For Fortuna knew they weren't human, and they did not abide by human rules. She could not tell them where Darien was, because she feared that they would kill him and she valued his life above her own.

            "I don't know," she said quietly.

            The woman looked at the man, as if seeking instructions. The man nodded again. The woman turned around and Fortuna saw a small table with a tray on top that had several needles. Fear began to creep over her body.

            The woman took the needle and started to poke Fortuna with it, forcing her to the floor. Not one at a time, but several, one after another, never removing the previous before plunging the next. Fortuna had to bite her lip to prevent herself from screaming. Whatever happened to her, she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her scream.

            "Are you going to tell us now?" the woman demanded.

            Fortuna shook her head furiously.

            The woman then took what looked like several pieces of wood strung together. Fortuna knew those, these were some of the instruments for interrogation which the ancient Chinese used. 

            Her fingers were placed in between and the woman started to pull. Hard. 

            The pain was so bad that it was all she could think of. Still, she refused to say anything. Her consciousness faded into blissful oblivion.

            She thought that she was dead, but she wasn't. The nightmare hadn't ended.

            Since the physical torture did not have any effect, they had decided to use mental torture. Fortuna knew this because she saw her parents seated in chairs in another room which she could see through a window. 

            The woman said, "Now, are you going to tell us where Li Song is?"

            She felt the first stirrings of panic. She answered without much certainty that she would be believed. "I don't know."

            "You're lying," the woman said coolly.

            "I am not."

            The woman pressed a button and she saw her parents' bodies jerk and their face grimace with pain. Fortuna looked at the woman in horror.

            "If you do not tell the truth, we would kill your parents. All it takes is more electricity."

            "I don't know," she cried. 

            Again the woman pressed the button, but this time for a longer period of time.

            Fortuna shot the woman a pleading look. No one could be as ruthless as that, to torture someone's parents in front of their child. Then she schooled her face to an expressionless mask. Perhaps if she seemed indifferent, they might let her go.

            "Do it," she said, "I don't care."

            The woman laughed. "Of course you do. That's why we brought them here. You are really hopelessly innocent."

            Then her laughter stilled and her eyes glinted with sadistic pleasure as she pressed the button again.

            All Fortuna could do was shake her head and say, "No, let them go. Do whatever you want to me, but let them go."

            The woman said, "We would if you tell us where Li Song is?"

            How could she make a choice like that? To choose between her parents and her soulmate? She valued their lives more than her own, how can she be forced to value one above the other? She owed her parents the debt of her up bringing and letting them die when she could do something to prevent that was not only not filial, but unimaginable. On the other side was her soulmate, whom she loved so much, whom she couldn't live without. Could she bear to betray him?

            The words slipped out of her mouth before the mind could make a decision. "No," she said.

            The woman pressed the button, leaving her finger there. She could see her parents' bodies jerk with the shock, could see the pain in their eyes even though she couldn't hear their screams. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

            "I'll tell you, I'll tell you," she screamed, crying.

            But it was too late, her parents had already died. She mumbled that Darien had gone back to Shanghai and then she faded away, trying to erase the horrible images she had seen unfold.

            Darien's heart clenched when he saw the look of deep pain and fear on Fortuna's face. Gently, he smoothed her hair away from her face then took her hand, holding it tightly against his cheek. He held it tightly, as if trying to establish some form of connection so that he could ease and remove the pain for her.

            Gradually, she stilled and her face became calm in deep sleep. 

            Not for the first time, Darien felt out of his depth. He was lost, unable to figure out just what to do. One thing he knew was that as soon as Fortuna was safe, he was going to leave. He could not bear it if she were to be captured and tortured again. He would not be able to live with himself.

            Three years back, Darien had gone back to Shanghai to settle all the loose threads he and Fortuna had left behind, erasing all traces as to where they had gone. He had been too late however. His family had already traced their whereabouts.

            He had not realised that at the time until he had went back to the apartment in Hangzhou which they had rented. When he arrived, she was not around. He assumed that she might have gone out to shop and waited, sorting out their things and preparing for their departure to Singapore. For Fortuna wanted to see her parents first and Darien felt that they should at least ensure her parents' safety since his family might try to attack them.

            He waited for a whole day and there was no trace of her. He started to worry. He then called one of his old friends from his school days, Joanne. It had been rumoured that she had joined Circle Daybreak a few years back and had met each other again, just recently in Shanghai and had exchanged numbers. She tried to convince him to join Circle Daybreak but he had refused. He wanted nothing to do with the Night World whatsoever. Now, Darien, desperate, decided to call her and see what she could do. 

            She told him that there was nothing they could really do but wait. She would try to ask the people she knew to keep a lookout for Fortuna, but it was entirely possible that she had been captured, interrogated and killed.

            That was a possibility Darien did not want to consider.

            He had to, Joanne had insisted. It might be unlikely but it was still possible and he had to be prepared. She had also told him to move out of the apartment and stay somewhere else. She would contact him via his mobile phone.

            He followed her instructions and waited, impatient for news. But a sense of foreboding came over him. He knew that his family wouldn't let her get off so easily. And every so often, he could feel her pain and anguish. But he didn't know where she was. That feeling of helplessness drove him nearly insane. 

            The news did come. Two days later.

            He had picked up the phone to hear Joanne's grim voice. They had found Fortuna.

            Darien felt an intense relief that left him silent for several seconds. Then the bad news came.

            She wasn't conscious, Joanne had continued. Darien felt his heart drop. She had been victim to severe physical and mental torture and Joanne gave him the name of the hospital she was in.

            Darien rushed there as fast as he could. There, he had met Alyssa and found out that Fortuna's mind was blocked against telepathy. Alyssa had told him that only he could bring her out of the state of shock she was in and relieve her mind of the horrors she had gone through.

            He did and what he saw shattered him.

            He could not believe that his family could be that ruthless. To kill someone's parents before her own eyes? He could not believe that and part of his mind resisted and denied that knowledge. But he saw it in Fortuna's memory, the image that had attacked him the moment he was in her mind.

            He knew that even if he brought her back to consciousness, she would not want to live. She would not be able to get through the pain and get past the injury inflicted on the mind. 

            Thus, he blocked out all her memories in her mind and convinced her that Alyssa was her aunt and that her parents had passed away in an accident. He hoped that Alyssa would be able to protect her from further harm.

            When he returned to reality, he was exhausted and drained. He watched the face he loved so well lying so serenely on the pillow and kissed her lips softly. As he stood up and walked out of the door, he looked back, thinking that it would be the last time he ever saw her.

            The doorbell rang and Darien broke out of his reverie and rushed to the door. He chained the door and opened it cautiously.

            "Yes?" he said.

            The person standing in front of him was a short man, with a slightly thickening face. He had a benevolent face with lines that showed that he laughed and worried a lot.

            "Alyssa said you needed a doctor," he said.

            Darien opened the door and showed him inside.

            Darien eased open Fortuna's mouth and poured the medicine in. The doctor had left two hours ago. He said that it was just a high fever that could be treated easily with an injection and some medicine. She had also suffered multiple bruises and cuts on her body which would make movement painful for the next few days.

            Then he saw the flutter of eyelashes and Fortuna's eyes opened. She rolled them around, as if trying to determine her surroundings and rasped out, coughing slightly, "Where am I?" 

            "You're in my apartment," Darien said softly.

            The sleepiness in her eyes cleared and she tried to sit up. Darien immediately moved to support her, placing pillows beneath her back.

            "Thank you," she said, still coughing. Her throat was dry. He quickly poured a cup of water and passed it to her.

            She clutched the cup in both her hands and slowly drank from it, giving a little sigh as she put it down on the bedside table. "What happened?"

            "You were attacked in your apartment then you fell sick with fever," Darien replied, glossing over several details.

            Fortuna eyes grew wider as she remembered what had happened. "You aren't human, aren't you?" she stated matter-of-factly.

            "No, I'm not."

            "You're a vampire, aren't you," she said in the same tone.

            Darien nodded. He did not know if she was really calm or if hysteria was bubbling underneath it.

            Fortuna nodded as if some mystery had been solved. Then she said, puzzled, "Have I ever known you before?"

            "Why do you ask?" he said, surprised.

            "That fellow who so irritatingly attacked me in my own home seemed to be certain that you and I knew each other well."

            Darien didn't know if it was time to tell the truth, so he tried to hedge a little. "It's a long story, I'll tell you when you're feeling better. Right now, it's better if you rest more."

            "Stop avoiding the issue, damn it," she said sharply. "I think I'm rested enough and I ought to know better than anyone else about what my body needs. If it's a long story then start telling it. I have a lot of time."

            He was still reluctant to tell her. "Well, Alyssa would be arriving shortly. I'll tell you when she arrives, all right?"

            Fortuna felt like insisting but suddenly her head started to throb. Rather than admit that he had been right, she said, "I'll wait, for now. But I expect to know everything once Aunt Alyssa's here."

            He could see that she was getting weaker and more tired despite her attempts to hide it and made her lie on the bed.

            "Sleep," he ordered, which she thankfully followed.

            Darien turned to his side as he lay on the couch in his living room. He just felt strangely irritated and unsettled. Actually that didn't quite describe his feelings, but it came close enough. He tossed the thin blanket aside and stood up. There was no way that he would be getting any sleep that night. Not that it mattered to him.

            He walked towards the black piano near the balcony. It wasn't a grand piano, not that it mattered. It belonged to the landlord but Darien often played it sometimes when he was feeling out of sorts. He knew his playing was just average but it was still soothing to touch the keys with his fingers and concentrate on the notes. 

            He started to play softly. It was a simple song, but one which had captured his interest upon hearing. He had listened and played it millions of times and still never got sick of it. Shortly after he started playing, the confusion started to settle and he began to feel more at peace

            So absorbed was he in his playing that he did not realise that someone was behind him, watching him. Fortuna had awakened earlier and wanted some water. There wasn't any left in the pitcher beside her and she got up, swaying slightly, to go to the kitchen. As she made her way slowly out, she heard music, soft but distinct. 

            Fortuna simply stood there, riveted to the image of the man and the piano. His face had a look of calm which she had not seen before. She loved music, though she could never play or sing and this sight touched her deeply.

            Finally, his fingers stilled. He continued sitting there, staring at his reflection in the shiny black surface of the piano. Then he heard the sound of footsteps and turned, startled. 

            "That was beautiful," she said.

            He shook his head and smiled slightly. "No, you just haven't heard the original."

            "I have," she said. "A long time ago..."

            Darien stared at her, remembering. She had heard it before. He had played the original for her as well as playing it to her himself. He remembered her sitting beside him, watching him play. Every so often he would look at her and she would smile in utter contentment. Yes, it was a long time ago.

            "You played it for me," Fortuna said quietly, but with conviction. This was something she had no doubt of. The memory was vague but she remembered it nonetheless.

            He nodded.

            "Tell me, tell me how I knew you, what happened between the two of us. Tell me why I can't remember anything about you," she continued in the same quiet tone.

            By then they had unconsciously walked closer together. Darien barely heard the question. His only thought was how her face looked in the soft, yellow light of the room. It looked so much like the face he saw in the moonlight three years ago. The face he fell in love with so long ago. And he couldn't resist the temptation and the surge of longing. Slowly, gently, he moved his face towards hers and kissed her softly, tenderly.

            Fortuna was shocked but that feeling was quickly erased by a feeling of rightness, of belonging. This was what she had been missing for so long. With that simple touch, she felt all his sadness which she did not know the reason for.

            But what was more wonderful was the feeling she had of his mind. It was as if she had been there so many times, that this was a place familiar and well-loved to her. His mind was full of white mists and she saw the memories that he had treasured so dearly, images of the two of them together.

            The two of them in a boat at night, with her blowing bubbles and laughing. Of the two of them just walking, holding hands. Of the discussions they had about books and their interests. Of their arguments and the sweet reconciliation after that. She couldn't have known that they had such a past together.

            Then she came to a startling realisation. Theirs was more that a simple relationship. They were soulmates, meant to be with each other forever. 

            She then heard his voice in her mind. I know, he said. And I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me.

            Then why, she said. Why did you never tell me before? I've felt the connection so many times but you never said anything, you always drew away from me.

            Because, he started then stopped. Then he started to say no, both mentally and aloud. Suddenly Fortuna was aware of her surroundings again. She was no longer surrounded by white mists and beautiful music. With a feeling of disorientation, she realised that Darien had pushed her away and was shaking his head. 

            She reached out to touch him, to try and ease his confusion. He brushed her hand aside. "No, I can't," he said to no one in particular. "It would only hurt you, only destroy you..."

            "It wouldn't," she started to say.

            He looked at her suddenly, his eyes intensely focused. "No, you're already engaged."

            This fact hit her like an arrow. Yes, she was engaged. She had responsibilities and commitments. No matter how she felt, she couldn't get involved with him.

            Darien smiled bitterly. He knew her too well. Then he turned and made blindly for the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Remember

By Risa 

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Chapter Five

A man stood beside a window that stretched from floor to ceiling. No, not a man in the full sense, he was something different, a vampire. He had black hair that was silver-grey at the edges, deep-set eyes, and a strong, obstinate jaw. His forehead was furrowed in concentration.

Li Hong Sha was worried. His nephew, Li Yu had been gone for a week without giving any notice to his family at all. This was not his usual behavior. Li Yu rarely took off without telling someone first, he knew he would get into trouble if he did. His son Li Song however, never really cared if he got into any kind of trouble. He did what he wanted and had always been headstrong. He was the darling the whole family however, so they usually let him off with nothing more than a scolding. That was why everyone felt his betrayal so acutely.

He smiled slightly as he remembered when Li Song, sixteen years old at the time, suddenly said over dinner that he wanted to be known as "Darien". He felt that it was better camouflage and that everyone had first names anyway. He refused any of the traditional names, saying they were too common and he wanted to go against the current.

Then Hong Sha sighed. He had done that indeed. He had to run off with a human soulmate.

Nobody could have been more hurt by what Li Song did than his father. Despite his anger and disappointment, he still could not bear to go after Li Song and bring him back to face punishment. For he knew what that meant - death. Not a quick death but slow and agonising. And he knew then that no matter how severe a crime Li Song had committed, he was not able to watch his son die or suffer. He was his father, for God's sake.

Li Hong Sha closed his eyes. That was all he had thought about for the last three years. On the surface, he was following the elders' instructions but he did not go beyond that. He exerted whatever means he could to thwart their efforts. He'd rather have a missing son then a dead one.

The phone rang. His private phone, the one only the members of his family knew his number to.

"Hello," he said cautiously.

"Uncle," Song He's voice came across the line. He sounded serious and stern. "Something's happened to Li Yu."

"What?" he replied, trying to maintain his composure. That was all that he needed, more trouble.

"Li Yu was murdered. By Li Song." Song He said shortly. 

Hong Sha was shocked and was speechless for a moment, then said quickly. "You know where he is?"

"He's seemed to have disappeared again. I'm not sure if he was really killed by Darien, but Li Yu did die as he was searching for him."

"All right, tell me what you all have been doing. Now."

"Last week, someone was looking for you, but you were away in Hong Kong. Li Yu went to meet him and the man - a made vampire, I think – said that he had some important information on Darien's whereabouts. He was willing to sell it for a price. Apparently, he and a few others had infiltrated Circle Daybreak and found out Fortuna Ji's location as well as a few others. Li Yu paid him the money and left with me to Singapore.

"Then, when we arrived, he left me waiting outside as he went to see her. When he did not show up after half a day, I went into the apartment and found him dead."

"How did you know that it was her, and not someone else? A vampire hunter for example?" Hong Sha said, concealing the feeling of dread that was creeping up upon him.

"The pictures. There were photographs of her. The funny thing is that there is no sign of Darien. Just of her and a strange man. You'll have to tell the elders. If Fortuna Ji is there, Li Song wouldn't be too far away."

Hong Sha sighed. He could not protect Li Song any longer. He had to forward this information to the elders or Song He would. He might be loyal to Hong Sha, but he also followed the rules strictly.

"All right, I'll call the elders."

            He dialled the number to his grandfather. "Grandfather," he said, once someone picked up.

            "Hong Sha," he acknowledged.

             "We found Darien."

            Darien's mind was in a blank. No, not exactly a blank. More like a silver, misty, swirling whirlpool. He could not believe what had just happened. A part of him still longed to turn back to Fortuna, to take her back into his arms but the rational part of him said no.

     It was moments like these that he just felt like taking something wooden and killing himself with it. But he couldn't, he had promised Fortuna that no matter what happened, he would not kill himself.

     It had been after dinner and they had been talking. She suddenly asked, "What would you do if I died?"

                Darien was caught by surprise and couldn't answer. Then he smiled and said playfully, "I'll join you so you won't be alone."

                "No," she shook her head, "You wouldn't. Promise me one thing Darien, that no matter what happens to me or for whatever reason, you would not kill yourself."

               "I was just joking," he said, a little startled by her seriousness.

               "Promise," she persisted. He gave in.

               She must have a gift of prescience, Darien smiled bitterly. Whether Fortuna remembered or not, he could not break that promise. Plus a part of him still clung to the hope that someday they would still be together, perhaps in her next life.

     So troubled was his mind that he did not notice the four figures approaching him until he felt their shadow fall over him. He turned and assumed a fighting stance.

 He recognised the four of them. They were some of the hired hands of the Li family, deadly fighters all of them. He swore under his breath, he had been so stupid. He should not have let his guard down. 

                A fight ensued where it was evident that the four had the upper hand. Then he felt a hit on his head and his world went black.

              Fortuna sat on the sofa in the living room and leaned back, laying her hand over her eyes. What had happened? She didn't know. All she knew was that Darien was somehow tied to her, tied in a manner that defied rational explanation.

     He hadn't returned since he rushed out of the apartment. Fortuna looked at the clock. Half an hour had passed and he still wasn't back. She decided that she would wait for him to return. Then they would have a long over-due talk.

                But she didn't stay up long enough. Within minutes, she had fallen asleep, curled on the sofa.

            She didn't wake up until the sound of the doorbell the next morning.

            She stretched and cursed the inventor of the doorbell and all of his descendents into the hundredth generation. Her body was stiff from the position she had slept in. "Coming!" she shouted to the persistent doorbell.

She shuffled to the door and opened it to see Alyssa.

            "You seem better," Alyssa commented as she went in.

            "A lot better than yesterday," Fortuna said.

            "Darien?"

            Fortuna then recalled the events of the previous night. She pushed all those distracting thoughts to the back of her head and said, "I haven't seen him since last night. He left the apartment and I don't know where he went." 

Alyssa rose an eyebrow. "Let's go see if he's back yet. And Fortuna, please check who is outside before you open the door the next time."

Fortuna grinned sheepishly. They checked Darien's room first, but he wasn't there. He couldn't be found anywhere and there was no sign that he had returned the night before. Fortuna was starting to get worried, "Could anything have happened to him?"

"Don't worry," Alyssa replied soothingly, "He might have gone out for something." But she was worried herself. It was not like him to leave Fortuna alone, not while she was in that much danger. But then, he might have gone out to feed.

"We'll just wait until he comes back," she continued.

            Fortuna nodded and told Alyssa, "Darien and I were involved once, weren't we? What exactly happened, why couldn't I remember it? Why am I getting strange flashes of memories now? Aunt Alyssa, I want the truth."

            Alyssa sighed. "I suppose there's no hiding it from you now, is there? Yes, you and Darien were involved once. 

            "Three years ago, the two of you had met in Shanghai. When Darien first saw you, he knew that you were his soulmate. And so did you. Gradually, you grew closer and closer together, falling deeper and deeper.

            "Now, Darien's family is a very strict and traditional family. They would never support such a relationship. You and Darien started to get threats. That was when Darien revealed what he was. And the two of you eloped. Darien left the Night World and had refused to join Circle Daybreak, where most similar relationships end up in. He wanted nothing to do with the Night World whatsoever.

            "Then, he had to leave for Shanghai alone. And you were captured and tortured by the Li family. When Darien found out you were missing, he came to us. It was a while before we found you, unconscious and abandoned in an alley.

            "You had severe injuries and you were also in a coma. We tried to bring you out of it but for some reason, we couldn't enter you mind. Darien could however, so he brought you out of your coma, erasing all your memories of him and everything connected to him."

            Alyssa paused, took a deep breath and continued, "He also convinced you that I was your aunt. Actually, I'm also a vampire and I'm part of Circle Daybreak."

            If this had happened under ordinary circumstances, Fortuna would be in a fit by now. But she had seen too much over the few days that almost nothing could surprise her anymore. "I suppose that's why my memories of you are so vague," she murmured.

            Alyssa nodded. Then asked curiously, "I've always wanted to ask you why we couldn't enter your mind. Not even the best telepaths could." 

            Fortuna hesitated. If she told the truth, she would be leaking out a family secret. But Alyssa had become family to her. They might be connected by blood, but their relationship was as close or closer than such a connection. She then revealed a secret that had never left the Ji family. 

            "A very long time ago, my ancestors were given certain powers and were told that we were charged with the protection of the balance between good and evil. We don't know exactly how they were told or why we were chosen but most of my family believe that it was in return for the good deeds they had done and it was a gift from the gods so that our family would continued to serve others. Since then, there's usually at least one in each generation of the Ji family who is given this duty."

            "Why didn't Darien know about this?" Alyssa asked.

            "Well, I didn't know about it myself until two years ago when my guide first appeared. My parents were supposed to tell me but they died before they could," a look of pain passed over her face. "Anyway, we are usually assigned a spirit of one of our ancestors as a guide and to tell us when we are needed. Mine appeared rather abruptly," she smiled.

            "How did she appear?"

            "Well, she just made a sudden appearance in my dream. It was rather irritating and embarrassing actually. I was having a _very nice dream about a certain cute actor – and don't tell either Darien or Kevan that I said that – when __she suddenly appears. Poof. Out of nowhere. When she first saw me, she started laughing hysterically," Fortuna sighed. "Zimei has this bloody habit of making me feel like a child."_

            "Her name's Zimei?"

            Fortuna nodded. "I once told her that she didn't behave particularly ghost-like – she can get rather waspish and irritable. She said, 'How could you possibly know what a ghost is like? I'm the first one you've ever seen.'" Fortuna shook her head. 

            "So back to my earlier question, why couldn't we get into your mind?"

            "Well, that's basically because of my power. I can provide a great deal of additional power to people around me – or at least those that I allow to draw this energy from me. Apart from that, I have the basic abilities of a very slight degree of telepathy, which is so slight that I get more of what a person is feeling, rather than what he's thinking. Nothing that can compare to what some of the members of my family had.

            "I think that's why I have such strong shielding from probing. You can't get through unless I let down my shields. It was probably to prevent people from entering my mind and coercing me to provide extra power for them. I don't use this very often, since most of the time the people in my company don't need me to. Plus, it can deplete me a great deal."

            Alyssa nodded. "Your family must have taken great pains to prevent anyone from knowing about this."

            "Yes. But we do know of the existence of the Night World. We don't know the specific details but we do know that there is a society comprised of witches, vampires and the like. It is part of the folklore that is passed down."

            "But how did you all know about us?"

            Fortuna shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. There are a lot of things about the Ji family that is shrouded in mystery. Somehow, over the years, details began to be left out."

            Alyssa nodded slowly. "Well, when we have the time, we could always find out. Have you taken breakfast yet?" she asked, changing the subject, seeing the pain that Fortuna was feeling at having to talk about her family.

            Fortuna shook her head, "I just woke up."

            "Well then, let's go down to that restaurant you like and have some porridge."

            At that point of time, Darien was starting to stir. He regained consciousness and his eyes widened in shock. 

            His hands had been tied together and he was lying flat on the floor in front of a whole panel of elders. They were seated on huge redwood chairs in front of the family altar. A feeling of dread was starting to creep over him. He pushed it aside. He no longer cared if he lived or died.

            His great-grandfather, who was seated in the middle shook his head, as if having read Darien's thoughts. "No, you wouldn't die that easily." He then nodded to someone behind Darien.

            He then felt heavy wood beating on his back downwards. One bang after another, he soon lost count of how many times he had been hit on the same spot. Darien gritted his teeth in pain. He would not betray any emotion of pain. He clung to that thought. He could not think of anything else. His mind was blinded by pain and he shouted inside, hoping that someone could somehow hear him.

            Fortuna was blowing softly at her spoon when she felt a sharp pain in her head. _I can't take anymore of this! she heard in her mind amid the whiteness of pain. Behind that thought was pain, frustration and anger._

            What frightened her the most was that she recognised the voice. It was Darien's.  Something was being done to him, that much she could tell. He needed help. Bad. 

            "What?" Alyssa said sharply. Fortuna realised then that she had dropped her spoon and her hands were shaking. Alyssa took a piece of tissue and wiped the porridge off her hands and then held them firmly in hers. "What happened?" she repeated.

            "I..." Fortuna started, shaking her head as if trying to clear it. Then she said clearly, "Something's being done to Darien. Torture or something… I have to get to him."

            Alyssa nodded grimly and the two of them walked out of the restaurant hurriedly.  

*~ To be continued ~*


	6. Chapter 6

Remember

By Risa

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Author's Note: After so long, the last two chapters are finally up! I wanted to work on "Regrets" but this story kept intruding… Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! And comments/criticisms are greatly appreciated.

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Chapter Six

            They drove back to Fortuna's apartment first. Fortuna lifted a loose panel from the floor and was taking out various weapons as Alyssa was talking on the phone, trying to figure out who had taken Darien and where. Fortuna tried to keep her frustration under control. She hated it – Fortuna was able to feel Darien's pain through the soulmate link but she couldn't use it to find him. 

            Alyssa ended her conversation and said grimly, "Darien's been taken by his family. I have the address." She looked down curiously at the weapons – a pair of wooden daggers, a wooden sword and some darts. "Where did you get those from?"

            "These are just some antiques that were passed down to me, never thought I'll have to use it," Fortuna said as she dumped them into the bag and walked out of the apartment, with Alyssa following behind.

            The car stopped in front of a large ancient house in a remote area. There was no sign that this house was anything out of the ordinary except for the black flowers that decorated the fence. Fortuna and Alyssa got out of the car. "So are we just going to fight our way in?" Alyssa asked.

            "Probably," Fortuna replied. "Unless you have a better idea…"

            "Suits me just fine," Alyssa assured her.

            They walked cautiously towards the house. Slowly and quietly, Alyssa tried to open the door. It was locked. With a small growl of irritation, she broke the lock. Fortuna gave her a small grin, "Guess vampire strength's pretty handy."

            Five vampires stared at them as they entered the house in shock. It was only a second before they recovered and attacked them. Fortuna flung two darts at the advancing vampires, killing two of them. She gave the vampire nearest to her a swift roundhouse kick before quickly staking him with her dagger. Alyssa had staked one of them with the sword and had pinned the last vampire to the wall.

            "Where's Darien Li?" she demanded as she banged the vampire against the wall so hard that cracks were showing.

            He spat at her. Alyssa glared at him as she pushed the sword against the vampire's sword, drawing blood. "Where is he?" she repeated coolly. 

            "He's in the main hall," the vampire said, wincing in pain. The vampire managed a small smirk, "You won't be able to get him out. You're not strong enough."

            Alyssa stabbed the vampire with her sword. "Moron," she muttered. "Can't they think of anything better to say?"

            "Look," Fortuna said, pointing to a corridor where six vampires were advancing towards them.

            "The idiot must have called for reinforcements," Alyssa muttered irritably. "Go, Fortuna. I'll hold them back."

            "But – " 

            "Just go!"

            With one last worried glance, Fortuna turned and ran down the other corridor, hoping that her luck would hold and it would lead her to the main hall. 

            _"Turn right here, the main hall is just up ahead."_

            "Zimei?" Fortuna said in shock. "What are you doing here?"

            _"Can't have you blundering around and getting yourself killed, can I?" the voice chided. __"Focus, child."_

            Just then, Fortuna saw two vampires heading towards her. She threw two darts at them but it failed to take them down. Cursing, Fortuna threw her dagger at one of the vampires, hitting it in the chest. Upon seeing his companion collapse on the ground, the other vampire growled and increased his speed. Fortuna was barely able to react when she was knocked to the ground. The vampire punched her in the face and put his hands around her neck, strangling her.

            _I'm sorry __Darien__; I couldn't do anything to help you, Fortuna thought, as her mind began to grow dim._

            Suddenly, the pressure around her neck disappeared. Fortuna opened her eyes and struggled to sit up. The vampire was now lying in the other corner of the room, unconscious. Fortuna looked up and saw Zimei standing over her. "That was rather sloppy," she commented.

            Fortuna struggled to her feet. "I'm human, in case you hadn't noticed," she muttered, but Zimei had disappeared. Fortuna continued towards the hall. She couldn't be bothered with the eccentricities of her grand-aunt right now. Darien needed her. She had to find him.

            The elders stared at her in shock which quickly turned to cold, steely anger as she appeared in the doorway. In front of them knelt Darien, his back to Fortuna. Seeing the expression on the faces of the elders, Darien turned, wincing at the pain the movement caused. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Fortuna. "No!" he shouted, "Get out Fortuna! They'll kill you!"

            "Let them," Fortuna said bleakly, "They've already taken so much from me."

            Darien looked at her in despair before he turned towards the elders pleadingly. "Please, let her go. This has nothing to do with her. It was my fault. I knew the rules and I deliberately broke them."

            One of the women on the panel stood up angrily, her hand slamming down on the table beside her. "She's human and vermin. The last time we were lenient towards one, she nearly killed all of us."

            Another of the men nodded. "Since she so conveniently turned herself in, we might as well kill her and Darien."

            "No!" Darien shouted. He took one of the small stakes on the tray in front of him and stabbed himself in the chest, biting his lip to hold back the cry of pain. "The ritual punishment," he gasped, "I'll do it willingly if you let her go."

            "Darien!" Fortuna screamed as she ran to Darien, holding him in her arms. "Why? Why did you do this? Don't you know that I can't live without you?" She looked down at the stake. There was so much blood…

            "I owe them, Fortuna," Darien said weakly, his face white with pain as he raised a bloodstained hand to caress her face. "They're my family. They brought me up. I owe them a debt of blood."

            "If this is what you want," Darien's grandfather said, "so be it. Someone take the girl away."

            "No!" Zimei shouted as she materialized in front of Darien and Fortuna. "If it's vengeance that you want, then direct it towards the right person. Don't take it out on them just for loving each other."

            "You!" Darien's grandfather shouted in shock and fury.

            "Zimei?" Fortuna said, confused. "What are talking about? Why is he reacting like that?"

            Zimei looked down at Fortuna, her expression soft. "I'll answer your questions later, child." Her expression grew harsh she turned her gaze back to the elders. "Once, you were willing to let a human girl marry one of your own, accept her into your family. Why can't you do that now? Don't punish them for a mistake I made. It's not the same as before. Once they leave, you'll probably never see them again."

            Li Hong Sha couldn't stay silent any longer and he rushed forward and knelt in front of Darien's grandfather. "Please, Father," he pleaded, "let them go. You were once prepared to let her marry your son because you wanted to see him happy. You were prepared to protect them from the Night World because you couldn't let your son die. I can't let my son die. Whatever he's done, he's still my son."

            "Father…" Darien said, the tears threatening to flow from his eyes.

            Darien's grandfather sat back down in his chair, defeated and shook his head, sighing. "Why does this keep happening to this family?" He looked at Darien and Fortuna bleakly before he said grimly, "Go."

            "What?" Darien said in surprise.

            "Go," he repeated. 

            "Take care of my son," Li Hong Sha said to Fortuna, his voice gentle. 

            "I will," she replied solemnly, as she stood up, carrying him in her arms and turned to leave. Zimei glanced at Darien's grandfather. She wanted to apologise for everything she had done. But she knew that there was nothing she could say to lessen the man's burden. She sighed and turned, following behind Fortuna.

            When they had left the hall and were alone in the corridor, Fortuna said to Darien angrily, "Don't you _dare do that again!"_

            Darien gave her a small grin. "You always looked pretty when you're angry."

            "Darien Li, don't patronise me!" Fortuna yelled. Then her voice turned soft and gentle. "You scared me. I love you, you thick-headed, stubborn, stupid oaf."

            "I don't know if I should feel happy or insulted," Darien said, laughing. His laugh was cut shot as the wound in his chest made him cough.

            "Just keep still," Zimei advised. "In fact, some sleep would be good until we can get you some blood."

            Darien raised an eyebrow. "Just listen to her," Fortuna said, "Trust me, you don't want to argue with her."

            Darien nodded and shut his eyes. By the time they met Alyssa, he was already asleep. The strain on his body from the stake, the beatings and the fight earlier had been too much, even for a vampire. Alyssa grinned when she saw them. "More of them came after you left," she said, "it took awhile but they eventually got the picture. I decided to stay her just to make sure."

            Fortuna grinned. "Alyssa, this is my grand-aunt, Zimei. Zimei, Alyssa."

            Alyssa smiled at Zimei. "Fortuna has told me a little about you."

            "And none of it really favourable, probably," Zimei said dryly.

            "Hey!" Fortuna protested. "I'm not _that mean." _

            Alyssa and Zimei laughed. As they got into the car, Fortuna asked Zimei, "So what exactly happened between you and Darien's family?"

            Zimei sighed. "It was so long ago. My parents were killed – by forces of good. My mother left me at the doorstep of an assassin group. I was brought up by them, became an assassin myself. I didn't know anything about our family or our Balance until my own guild came for me, which was when I decided to stop being an assassin. Then, one day, they asked me to do one last job for them – to kill the Li family.

            "I couldn't refuse. They told me it was the last thing they would ask me to do and that I owed them for bringing me up. So I agreed. I staged the meeting between myself and Li Shanwei and became a servant in his family. Shanwei and I were actually soulmates," the pain that Zimei had carried for so long showed in her face just then. "His family had always disregarded the Night World and its rules. They agreed to let Shanwei marry me, to change me into a vampire. Everything about my mission, about what I was supposed to do, I tried to forget. But I couldn't. My sense of duty wouldn't let me. All throughout the time I spent with his family, I had been killing them one-by-one.

            "Then, the night before we were supposed to get married, they found out that I was the one, the assassin. They wanted to kill me. Shanwei found me first and the look of betrayal in his eyes…" Zimei closed her eyes and bit her lip in remembered hurt. "He couldn't understand my actions, but he told me that he couldn't kill me, couldn't let them kill me. Whatever I had done, he still loved me and he couldn't bear to watch me die.

            "But I knew. If he let me go, his family would kill him. And I couldn't take that. Especially since the whole thing had been my fault. So I killed myself," she looked at Fortuna bleakly. 

            Fortuna's looked at Zimei with sympathy and sadness. Was their family doomed to a life of loneliness? Were they cursed in love? She looked down at Darien, who was still sleeping in her arms. In the relief that she had felt to see him alive, she had forgotten everything that had happened. Now, she felt confused. She loved him, that, at least, she knew. But could they still be together? Did she want to go through it all over again? Pick up where they left off? Forget everything that happened? What about Kevan?

            She leaned against the seat of the car with a sigh. She needed time alone, to slowly sort through her thoughts. She had too much for one day. She couldn't deal with all this right now. Then something occurred to her. "Did you know about the memories that Darien blocked?"

            Zimei nodded.

            "Why didn't you tell me anything?"

            "It's your personal life, Fortuna. I didn't think it was my position to interfere. And I won't either. Certain things happen in your life for a reason, for you to learn. I wouldn't want to get in the way with that."

            Fortuna sighed, "It makes sense I guess."

            "Don't worry, child," Zimei said, "I'm sure you'll do fine."

            "I'm _so glad that one of us is confident at least," Fortuna said wryly. "And quit calling me child."_

            Zimei laughed. 

            A week later, Fortuna came to Darien's apartment. Since that day, they had not said a word to each other, did not even exchange even a glance. Although he was desperate to know how she felt, to console her or just talk to her, he waited for her to make the first move.

            He opened the door to see her standing there, with a strange expression on her face – one of deep sorrow but also of determination. She said quietly, "Can I come in?"

            He simply moved and gestured that she could. She walked in but did not bother to take a seat. After he had shut the door, she just turned to him and said, "Kevan and I would be leaving tomorrow. For good."

            He was momentarily shocked. Then he said, "Why?"

            "I can't stay here any longer," her expression turned pleading, pleading for him to understand, which he did, all too fully.

            "You think that I can take the agony of having you so near me and yet not able to show to the world how I feel for you?" he retorted, angrily. His expression turned to despair, "I can't stand being without you, I've tried and thought I could but now, after this, the pain is too much for me to bear." 

            "I really can't stay. Who knows what would happen between us if I did? You know we can't 'just be friends'. You know as well as I do how strong the soulmate bond is," she said, tears rushing to her eyes. She took a breath before she continued.

            "And I can't leave Kevan, I'm engaged to him. In a way, it's a promise, a vow. I can't go against that, I can't break it because I met someone else. It isn't fair to him."

            "Oh, and marrying him is fair," he scoffed. "You think it's fair to him if you marry him while your heart is with someone else?"

            "Look, I do love him, in another way. I might never be completely happy, that is only possible with you," she paused, the revelation that slipped past her lips without her knowledge left her surprised.

            Before he could say anything though, she said, "But I can, and will be, contented. He's a good man, and he loves me dearly. For me to leave him because of you…I don't think he can take it."

            "And you think I can?" 

            "I don't know…what I do know is that I have a responsibility to him. Also, now that I remember everything, I can't go back to you. It was because of us that my parents died."

            "You blame me?" he asked quietly.

            "No, I blame myself. I can't forgive myself," she replied.

            He stared at her.

            "I keep feeling that there was something I could have done, I could have told them about you, who you really were, you told me how dangerous the Night World was, I should have told that to them. I could have saved them," she said.

            "I understand how you feel--"

            "No you don't," she flared up suddenly. "You don't know what it's like having to make the choice between the life of the person you love and the lives of your parents. I've been brought up to know that family matters, blood matters. I betrayed my parents; I caused their death. They spent seventeen long years bringing me up, making sure that I'll lead a happy life and I not only did not repay them for that, I stabbed them in the back."

            Then she calmed down and said, "You have to know that this was not your fault, I was the one who misjudged the situation, I was the one who could have prevented their deaths. But I cannot be with you; when I see you, I hate myself because your presence reminds me of my parents. How can I stay with you? I won't be the Ji Xiang you once knew, you'll suffer because of my self-hatred."

            He was stunned speechless. She turned to leave. Just as she reached the door and was about to open it, he called her name.

            "I want you to know that there would always be someone waiting for you. Whatever the time, wherever you may be, there would always be such a person."

            The tears really fell then. He had quoted one of her favourite authors and each word went straight to her heart. A small, tenacious, smile appeared on her face as her eyes filled with tears that threatened to overflow. Her hand covered her mouth to stifle her tears and she ran out. 

Author's Note:

The ritual punishment mentioned by Darien is similar to that in the book Daughters of Darkness, it basically involves death with a lot of small stakes.


	7. Epilogue

Remember

By Risa

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Epilogue

            Fortuna walked out of the university, enjoying the feeling of the wind through her hair. Suddenly she stopped, staring in surprise.

            In front of her, leaning against the wall, his profile half in shadow was Darien.

            It had been a year since she had last seen him and she had thought of him so often since then, reliving all the time they had spent together, missing him. Tempted to look for him but resisting the temptation.

            Before she could turn to the other direction, he had spotted her and was walking towards her. "Hi," he said, softly, as he stood in front of her, hands in his pockets. But damn, he looked as good as ever.

            "Hi," she said, just as softly.

            For a while, the two of them just stood there, staring at each other. The noise of the traffic on the streets couldn't intrude into their own private world. They drank in the sight of each other, for the face that they had longed to see each night for so long.

            "What are you doing here?" Fortuna said, in an attempt to break herself from the daze that had come over her. There was a cough and a curt, "Excuse me" and Fortuna turned, alarmed to see an irritated cyclist glaring at her. Quickly, she moved aside.

            "C'mon," Darien said, grabbing her hand, "Let's go someplace where we can talk."

            The instant his hand touched hers, they both felt the familiar spark. Fortuna quickly broke the contact and nodded, as they walked together, side-by-side. "So how's Kevan?" Darien asked casually.

            "He's fine. He just went back to Shanghai awhile ago."

            "I thought you guys were getting married."

            "We didn't," Fortuna said, "Like you said, it wasn't fair to him." She paused, "You haven't answered my question," she said quietly.

            Darien sighed. "I needed to see you." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I've had a lot of time to think about things this past year. And I've reached one conclusion."

            "And that is…" Fortuna prompted, trying to ignore the rush of anticipation that went through her.

            "I can't take this," Darien said simply, "being away from you. I had three years of it and it was already too much. The only thing that kept me away from you then was the knowledge that being with you could get you killed. With that barrier gone…" he stopped, turning towards Fortuna, staring earnestly into her eyes. "Whatever barriers left between us are purely mental ones, Fortuna."

            "I know but – "

            He took her hands in his. "I know you've been scarred, you've been hurt. I know it's not going to be easy. We've both got too much baggage. But being apart isn't going to help things. I don't want to be alone again, Fortuna." 

            "But can you put up with all my own guilt and regrets?" she said. "It could hurt you, stifle you…"

            "I'll take what I can get," he said, determined. "And you forget – I've got my own guilt and regrets. Can _you deal with that?" He smiled wistfully. "Fortuna, we love each other. That ought to count for something. We could at least try?"_

            She smiled at him as the tears came to her eyes. "So we're basically going to strangle each other with our own emotional baggage?"

            "Yep, and do it with a smile."

            "Then we'll try it once more," she said softly. Darien pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. This was where he had longed to have her; this was where she had longed to be. The road ahead was rough, but Fortuna had had enough of being alone. Happiness, love, regret, guilt, they were all part of the same coin. Fortuna knew she wasn't going to hide anymore. She was going to face up to the past and put it behind her, instead of just brushing it aside. And she knew that Darien would be there for her, every step of the way.

Author's Note:

It's finally finished! This was actually my first fanfic. I started writing it three years ago under the title of "Promises". I never managed to finish it, somehow I just couldn't write the last chapter. Last year, I edited it and the story became "Remember" and I _still couldn't finish it. All my attempts at writing a conclusion were just awful. Finally, inspiration struck, I spent a few hours writing, and this is it. My original idea was to end it at Chapter 6. But I just couldn't keep Darien and Fortuna apart. The two of them have been in my head, bugging me to finish their story for the past 3 years. :-) I hope you enjoyed the story and any comments are really, really appreciated._


End file.
